How To Be Focused When You Work or Create From Home (Patreon)

I’ve been working from home for a few years now, and although I still get distracted by things all the time, I’ve picked up a few helpful tips for staying focused when I need to get something done.

Whether you’re creating art on a professional level, are trying to build an art business, or are creating just for fun, you’re probably going to need a way to be focused to make the most of your time.

For me to be able to work effectively, I need to set myself up in a comfortable bubble that’s as free of distractions as possible. What that looks like varies depending on my mood and energy levels, so it doesn’t have to always be exactly the same environment.

Although we can’t always completely get rid of our distractions, if you can find out what your most common distractions are, and then create some ways to at least reduce those distractions a little, then you’ll be in a great position to get some tasks done!

Here are some common distractions and some options for removing them from your little focus bubble:

Noise

Everyone has a different tolerance to different sounds; some people find lots of noise distracting, some people find silence distracting, or maybe you feel different depending on the day. If the noise in your space is distracting you, try noise cancelling headphones or putting on music so that you can make a soundscape that lets you focus on what you’re doing.

If you’re creating art and don’t need to do too much thinking, you could also try putting on a podcast to focus your mind while you draw. I listen to podcasts all the time while I’m drawing and it always helps me focus because it feels like the podcast is babysitting my brain while my hands can do the drawing.

Workspace

Having a comfortable space to work in can make such a difference! Everyone has different needs in a workspace, and those needs can also change day to day. If I’m sketching ideas in my sketchbook then I can take it anywhere and I try to take it somewhere inspiring or calming (like outside) so that I can focus on that task.

If I’m working at a desk I try to make sure that there’s enough room for me to work without feeling cluttered, so I take a minute to tidy up a little bit first so that I’m not distracted by all of the other things around me.

Your Phone

Phones are designed to hold our attention, but if you’re trying to get things done and your phone isn’t needed then it’s just going to be an easy way to procrastinate. I have most of my notifications turned off and if my phone is tempting me then I’ll put it out of reach so that I can’t easily pick it up and look for something else to do.

If you do need your phone on hand for things like phone calls or important messages, then you could put it on night-time mode so that your phone is in greyscale (I think most phones have this feature now) and it’ll be less tempting to aimlessly scroll on social media.

People

If I am in a chatty mood then I can’t be near anyone otherwise I won’t get anything done (except for lots of talking). For tasks that I can do on my own (which is 95% of them for me) I try to take my work somewhere quiet away from people or I tell my partner that I need to focus and ask him not to disturb me for a little while. It’s pretty common for me to start talking about video ideas and then not stop for a few hours 😅

I know a lot of you have pets and children and those are distractions that we can’t  ignore so easily! Unfortunately I don’t have any good advice since I don’t have any pets or children of my own - but if you do have experience then please do leave us a comment below with any tips you have!

Watching TV

TV is the ultimate distraction tool; it’s easy, entertaining, and doesn’t ask much of us. When you work from home and don’t have a manager watching over you, it’s very tempting to spend all day watching TV instead of working or creating.

I get around this in two ways: 1) I realised that TV is more fun in moderation and actually spending all of my time watching TV isn’t really what I want to do everyday because it isn’t very fulfilling if I watch it all the time, and 2) sometimes I just watch TV while I draw and then I get the best of both worlds!

I usually reserve TV time for late afternoon tasks to wind down at the end of the day, and I put something on in the background while I draw. It helps if it’s something that’s easy to watch that you’ve seen before (like your favourite nostalgic series), and definitely not something that requires all of your attention or for you to read subtitles.

So if you’re someone who does a lot of work or art at home and sometimes finds it hard to focus, take a few minutes before you sit down to your tasks to make your environment comfortable and as free of distractions as you can (easier said than done sometimes, I know).

And also remember that sometimes we just aren’t in the mood to get things done - and that’s ok too! All we can do is try to set ourselves up for success and then go with the flow 💖